Freshwater science increasingly recognises that resilient river management requires both Indigenous and non-indigenous knowledge systems. Drawing on the recently published book Lachlan Kalari Bila: Sweet Water by the Ocean, a collection of stories from more than 30 Traditional Owners connected to the Lachlan (Kalari) River, including Wiradjuri, Ngari Ngari, Mathi Mathi and Yitta Yitta peoples, this presentation explores a First Nations-led project and examines how lived experience, cultural knowledge, and deep relationships with Country can reshape our understanding of monitoring, managing and engagement in freshwater systems.
The stories reveal the Lachlan Kalari not as a resource to be managed, but as a living cultural entity that sustains identity, kinship, memory and wellbeing. They speak to the ongoing impacts of colonisation, dispossession and disrupted connections to land and water, while also demonstrating remarkable resilience, survival and cultural continuity. Across narratives of loss, return and healing, common themes emerge: the inseparability of river, family and culture; the importance of intergenerational knowledge; and the enduring responsibility to care for Country.
I will reflect on what these insights mean for freshwater scientists, managers and policymakers. Moving beyond consultation towards genuine partnership requires listening deeply, building trust, respecting Indigenous authority and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, and embracing Indigenous ecological knowledge as an essential and equal component of freshwater governance. These stories provide both a challenge and a pathway for creating more sustainable and culturally informed freshwater management in Australia.